Hi, I was about 22 before I figured it out. I am 35 now (just turned 35 today) <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

So for me, it was a long time. I remember that I was always feeling somehow poisoned, but never knew how or why. This was because I would get shivering spells, blue nails, crying and salivating, tremors etc, which to me added up to some kind of toxicity/acute poisoning.

I was labelled with candida/ chronic fatigue to try and explain all this, but treating candida only brought some results, but never cure. I knew something else was amiss. Also the metal taste kind of began to give it away.

My symptoms never really corresponded accurately with most other things I read about (candida would have been the closest and obviously I did have it), but when I read an article on mercury toxicity and the symptoms, suddenly I was stunned to find I could relate to this 100%, no ifts or buts, even to the most bizzare symptoms that I never shared with anybody.

And my reactions to having braces at age 15 was also very telling. Almost immediate and dramatic decline in health, extreme reactions to the metals, blurred vision, rashes, etc etc.

So for me, metals are a real problem, both toxicity wise and allergy. I cannot wear anything made of metal either.

I had 8 fillings altogether. They were replaced over years. From age 22, till about 24 they were gradually removed. THe last removal caused the most dramatic symptoms and from there, later on, I had the horrible dreaded dumping stage where the mercury that is stored starts to make its way out of you. For me that was a nightmare and took years to improve from.

But I did improve and the difference in me over time was quite remarkable. But now I'm very ill again by other means, so the mercury issue isn't the problem as such these days, but I can tell people who are mercury toxic that it takes time and is often a very hard road but worth it in the end.